


With Change Comes Good Things

by Sisslen



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-01-16 21:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1361878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sisslen/pseuds/Sisslen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tommy gets very surprising news a whole world opens up for him, and he leans on Adam to make it through. Along the way Adam gets more and more involved in Tommy's life and suddenly Tommy realizes that having Adam close is just as important for him, as it is for the new person in Tommy's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing on this story for three years. I have been stuck for long bits of time, because I wanted it to be just right. :) I'm really happy about the way the story turned out, and I hope that you will enjoy reading it.

Tommy almost fell of the couch when someone started knocking on his door as if they were trying to break it down. It took him a few seconds to make his brain zoom in on the situation and actually put his body into movement.

“What the fuck?! Relax I’m coming!” As he stood up he immediately put a hand to his forehead. God! Fuck! Whoever didn’t stop him from drinking too much last night should really have their ass kicked! When Tommy reached the door he tore it open and glared at the man on the other side. “What?!”

“Are you Mr. Tommy Joe Ratliff?” The man gave him the look. Tommy could imagine what he was thinking. He probably didn’t look too good right now.

“Yeah, that’s me. What’s going on?” Tommy instantly got nervous. He didn’t like the official look of this guy. “Something wrong?” Tommy was getting near panic real fast. His dad’s dead had left him a bit out of shape and the fact that he just came back from tour and was sleep deprived probably didn’t help either.

“We have been looking for you for two months Mr. Ratliff.”

“First of all; who are we? And I’ve been on tour. I'm a musician. I just came back a couple of days ago. What the hell is going on?!” Tommy snapped at the man. He knew that it seemed rude, but at this point he didn’t really care.

“I’m from social service Mr. Ratliff. As I said we have been looking for you for two months. We have your child.”

“Wait what? Why? I don’t have a kid.”

“As it turns out Mr. Ratliff, actually you have.”

“What?!” Tommy was sure this was a joke or a big mistake. He wasn’t a father, he would fucking know if he had got a girl pregnant. “Are you fucking kidding me here?! I’m not a father. I don’t have a kid.”

“Mr. Ratliff, I can assure you; you are in fact a father…” The man gave him that look again. “Or at least you have a daughter.”

“A daughter? But I… I have…” Tommy stepped away from the door and sat back down on the couch.

“I can see that this comes as a shook for you Mr. Ratliff. You didn’t have any idea of this girl’s existence?”

“No! Do you think I would be looking like this if I did?!” Tommy snapped again. The guy looked a little taken aback. “Sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just. Fuck! I’m a dad?” Tommy looked up at the guy. The guy smiled at him and sat down beside him at the couch.

“Let me introduce myself properly; my name is Will Johnson. As I said; I’m from the social service. We have been trying to get in contact with you for two months. Your daughter is in our custody right now and has been for the past two months after her mom’s cancer escalated and she eventually died..”

“Wait what? Died? Like in; not alive anymore?” Tommy could hear how stupid his question was, but this shit was fucked up.

“Ehm, well yes. She died of cancer five weeks ago. She listed you in her testament as the father and the one to take care of her daughter when she died.”

“But who was she? And why me? She didn’t even fucking tell me!”

“Her name was Alice. Alice Whitman. I can’t answer the why, but maybe she thought her daughter needed her father?” Tommy was staring at his hands by now. Alice. He remembered her. They dated for almost a year for about… five years ago.

“How old is the girl?” Tommy was still looking at his hands.

“Four years old.”

“Fuck.”

“Mr. Ratliff, I need to present the case for you in a more official way than this, so I would like it if you could come into my office later today?”

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be there.”

“Okay, does three o’clock work for you - that’s in about two and half hour.”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Mr. Johnson got up from the couch.

“Maybe you should bring someone with you for support.” He suggested, before giving Tommy’s shoulder a squish as he passed him on his way to the door. “See you later Mr. Ratliff.” The sound of the door closing, made Tommy jump out of his trance. He grabbed his phone and dialed a very familiar number.

 

 

Adam smiled when he saw who was calling. “Hey Glitterbaby, finally woke up from your beauty sleep? Before you get mad at me, I just want to say that I tried stopping you last night, but there was just no way in hell…”

“Adam.” Adam immediately shut up, he could hear the same kind of panic in Tommy’s voice as the time when he told him that he had to go back to the states, because his dad had died.

“Baby, what’s wrong, what’s going on?” All the laughter and fun sipped out of Adam’s voice and he was already crossing the living room on his way to grab his boots and jacket.

“I.. I’m a dad.” That made Adam stop shot in his movement.

“What did you just say?”

“I’m a dad.. Fuck! It’s just so fucked up!”

“Baby, slow down. What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense. Since when did you become a father?” Adam was sitting at the end of the staircase, one boot on and the other in his hand.

“Since 5 minutes ago. Or actually four years ago, but I just found out.”

“Still not with you baby.”

“Social service was just here Adam! I apparently have a daughter, whom her mother didn’t feel the need to tell me about, but thought she would give to me the day she died!” Tommy was yelling. Adam knew him well enough to know he was yelling in frustration and not at him.

“What?! Wow!”

“You might say that.” Tommy stated sarcastically.

“Wow. Baby, I don’t even know what to say, and that happens rarely.” That made Tommy chuckle, which made Adam smile. “Now what?”

“The social worker wants me to come into his office at three o’clock to talk over the situation. I really need you there with me, will you do that? Do you have time for that?”

“Baby, are you fucking kidding me?! Of course I’ll be there! You know what; I’m already in the process of putting on my boots so I’ll go pick up some food and coffee and I’ll be there in about half an hour to give you the biggest hug ever okay?”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Not a problem.” Adam was now on his way out the door, rushing to the car. “See you in a bit baby, love you.”

“Love you too. Thanks.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” When Tommy hung up he lay back down on the couch and covered his eyes. A dad. Fuck!

 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

After hangover food and a lot of coffee, Tommy was currently sitting at Mr. Johnson’s office, picking at his chipped nail polish trying to corm his nerves down. Adam reached across and took one of Tommy’s hands in his and when Tommy looked up he received a smile. In that same moment Mr. Johnson came back into the office followed by a woman.

“Mr. Ratliff; this is Ann Spencer.” Mr. Johnson introduced her. Ann Spencer reached out her hand. Tommy shook it and tried smiling.

“Hallo Mr. Ratliff. I was... still am Alice Whitman’s lawyer.” Then she turned and reached out her hand towards Adam. “Hallo Mr...” 

"Lambert. Adam Lambert" Adam responded as he shook her hand.

“I gather you are here for moral support Mr. Lambert?” she asked smiling.

“Yeah, that is correct.” Adam answered and smiled back at her.

“Well, Mr. Ratliff.” She sat down across from Tommy in the chair next to Mr. Johnsons’ desk. “Mr. Johnson told me that you seemed rather surprised this morning when he paid you a visit?”

“That would be an understatement.” Tommy stated sarcastically.

“My client never told you about Josephine’s existents did she?”

“Josephine..” Tommy couldn’t help but smile. Alice had played that one good. So typical her. Tommy snapped back to reality, when he felt everybody staring at him. “Sorry, no she never told me. I haven’t spoken to her since the break-up almost five years ago. She made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want me to.”

“Oh, I see. Well, as you know there is no DNA-test that can confirm your relation to Josephine, but Alice was sure. She never doubted for one second that you were Josephine’s father. She never registered any father on the birth certificate and has no close relatives left, so no one has the right to oppose on Alice’s testament, where she stated you as Josephine’s caretaker after her death.”

“Wow.” Tommy looked at Ann Spencer in shock. “Wow. I don’t know what to say. She never told me, but now she wants me to take care of our daughter, whom she never gave me the chance to get to know?!” Tommy looked at Adam for some kind of support or advice; he wasn’t really sure which one.

“I can understand why you would be mad and confused Mr. Ratliff. Alice probably did too, because she left you this letter and told me to hand it to you, before you meet Josephine.” Ann Spencer pulled out a letter from her briefcase and handed it to Tommy. Tommy looked at Adam for a second and then opened the letter.

 

 

 

 

_Hey Tommy Joe,_

 

_Before you start rolling your eyes at me, I am going to admit that this letter is a bit of a cliquey. In fact it is a bit cheesy, I know. I was just too much of a chicken to come and talk to you in person. Besides now I‘m dead so you can’t come and yell at me. Hah!_

_I am sorry Tommy! Sorry for not telling you that I was pregnant, and for being too scared to face you in person, and introduce you to Josephine, when I knew time was running out. I really am. I had my reasons. Maybe not good ones, seen from your point of view, but none the less; reasons._

_I have packed all of her things, including her baby book and all the photos of her. I hope that it makes it a little easier for you to connect with her, and hopefully to forgive me._

_She has your brown eyes and your smile. She is beautiful inside and out Tommy. I am so proud of her and I know that you will be too. I’m sorry for taking your choice, to be a part of her life, away from you, but I am giving it back to you now. I had her for four years; now she is yours for life. She is a part of you and me. A mix of us._

_I never deserved you Tommy Joe, but Jo does. She deserves to know her father. She deserves to know that she has a very talented and loving father, who has done well for himself in life. You followed your dreams Tommy, now go help our little girl do the same!_

_All my love,_   
_Alice_

_P.S.: Please tell Jo, that I love her and I am proud to be her mom. Everything I did, I did out of love._

 

 

 

 

Tommy smiled while reading it. There was no doubt in his mind that this letter came from Alice. Only she would be crazy enough to be happy of the fact that she won the argument, just because she died before Tommy had the chance to yell at her. The letter reminded him of how much he had missed her over the years. She had been so happy and easy to be around. Full of life.

Tommy read the letter twice before folding it. He looked up at Ann Spencer with a smile. “When can I meet my daughter?” Adam reached over once again and gave Tommy’s arm a squish. Tommy looked at him and gave him a smile to. He could do this; he could do what Alice had wanted him to do. He could take care of Jo.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Four days later Tommy was standing outside the orphanage that Jo was living in.

It made him feel sad to know that his daughter had lived here for two months, not having a person around that she knew and who loved her when her mother died. That made him angry at Alice again. How could she be that selfish? Why hadn’t she introduce them when she found out she was sick? Why couldn’t she see that Josephine needed him back then?

His anger suddenly turned into fear. What if Josephine hated him? What if she felt like he failed her?

He couldn’t go in there alone. He couldn’t bear to meet his daughter’s rejection alone. He picked up his phone to make a call. He needed to have someone by his side.

 

“Hey Tommy Joe what’s up?” Adam asked softly.

“She’s gonna hate me.”

“Who? Josephine? Baby, no! No she’s not.”

“Yeah, she is. I wasn’t there for her when her mom died. She’s been all alone for two months.”

“Baby, you didn’t know.” Adam said sternly.

“Still… She’s 4 years old Adam and she’s been all alone.” Tommy’s voice was about to break. He felt like crying. This wasn’t fair to Josephine, not at all fair.

“I know.” There was silence between them for a while. “Where are you? Do you need me to be there with you?”

“I’m standing outside the orphanage. Yes please!” Tommy could hear the insecurity in his own voice, but he didn’t care. Adam would never call him out on it, he never did.

“I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Just hold on Tommy okay? You can do this, I know you can.” Then the line went dead.

Tommy sat down on the stairs leading up to the front door of the orphanage and waited for Adam.

 

 

Tommy was flipping through his phone when he felt Adam’s presence. When he looked up he saw Adam walking towards him. Tommy stood up and received Adam’s greeting hug and kiss to his temple.

“You're okay?”

“Yeah, just freaking out a little bit. What if she rejects me? I don’t think I can handle that Adam.”

Adam pulled him in for one more hug. “Just be you Tommy and give her time okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Tommy felt himself relaxing in Adam’s embrace. He always had that effect on Tommy.

“Ready?” Adam asked him as he pulled away, nodding his head towards the door of the orphanage.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Let’s do it then.” Adam said, while putting his arm around Tommy’s shoulders leading him towards the door.

 

 

When inside, Tommy looked around for someone to guide him towards Josephine. He jumped slightly when a woman spoke behind them.

“Can I help you with something?” both Adam and Tommy turned around and was greeted by a middle aged woman with a friendly smile.

“My name is Tommy Ratliff and I’m here to meet my daughter.”

“Oh, so you are Tommy, Josephine’s father right?” the woman asked.

“Yes, that’s me.” Tommy found it kind of strange to introduce himself as someone’s father. That would probably take some getting used to.

The woman reached out her hand towards Tommy. “My name is Tracy. We’ve been waiting for you Mr. Ratliff.”

“Call me Tommy.”

“Tommy.” The woman repeated and then turned towards Adam. “Hallo to you too. Are you a friend of Tommy’s?”

“Yeah, I am. I’m here for moral support.” Adam returned the woman’s smile. “My name is Adam.”

“Welcome Adam, it’s nice to see that Tommy is not alone in this.”

“He isn’t – never will be.” Adam reassured the woman. Tommy couldn’t help smile and reach out to give Adam’s hand a squeeze.

“Well, as I said my name is Tracy and I’m one of many people to take care of the children here. I’m also the manager. We can go into my office and talk, before I take you to Josephine.”

 

Tommy and Adam followed her down a hallway, which was decorated with pictures and drawings. When entering the office Tracy showed them to a couch standing in one end of the room and took the chair from behind the desk for herself.

“Tommy, as you know by now Josephine has been living here for two months. Her mother chose this solution for Josephine when she knew time was running out on her.” Tommy nodded. That he knew, but didn’t understand.

“Can I ask you something?” Tracy nodded. “Did Alice ever mention her reason for not contacting me sooner? I’m trying to understand why she would do this to Josephine, when it was so obvious in the letter she left me that she was a loving mother. Please don’t misunderstand me, because I’m sure you’ve cared for Josephine perfectly, but in my opinion it would have been better for Josephine to have gotten to know me while her mother was still alive, so that she wasn’t left with strangers when Alice died.”

“I understand why you feel that way Tommy, and I won’t lie and tell you it hasn’t been hard for Josephine. She is a lovely and balanced little girl, but when you’re 4 years old and lose your mom without anyone else around to take care of you, it hurts and it’s frightening. Josephine and Alice came to visit us a couple of times in the month before Josephine moved in, so that we weren’t complete strangers to her. I tried to talk with Alice at those occasions, trying to understand her situation. It wasn’t before Josephine moved in that Alice told me that you existed, but that you didn’t know about Josephine and she had made this choice for Josephine in case you didn’t wanted her. But I can’t answer your question of why she didn’t come to you in person. “

“How is Josephine?”

“She’s okay. As I said it hasn’t been easy on her. She misses her mom a lot and she still cries herself to sleep every night. I think she feels very alone. She has good relations to the staff here and to the other children and she is able to play and have fun, but when the night time comes it’s really tough on her. She wants to talk about her mom a lot and I assume it is her way of coping with the fact that her mom isn’t coming back. She’s only 4 years old and therefor doesn’t really understand the concept of dead, but she knows that her mom can’t come back.”

“Does she know about me?”

“She does, but she was first told about you a couple of days ago when the social service got a hold on you. We didn’t want to tell her she had a father if you wanted nothing to do with her. That would just had been another loos for her that she didn’t need.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Tommy lowered his eyes to his hands. There was quite for a minute before Adam spoke.

“Tracy, what is going to happen now? What are Tommy’s rights and how does he get to meet Josephine?”

“Tommy has all the rights to Josephine as a father can have. If I was you Tommy, I would get a DNA test made. If it turns out negative you still have all the rights to Josephine, but maybe it would be nice for you, and later on for Josephine, to be sure of the fact that you are her father. “

“I’m sure I am, but I’ll do it for Josephine’s sake.”

“About seeing Josephine; as I said out in the hall I will take you to Josephine today. I think it’s time that she gets to know her dad, and the faster she can get back to a form of family life the better. I really think that is what she needs, that’s what will make her feel safe again. So let’s see how it goes today and plan ahead from there.” She smiled at Tommy and then reached for his hand. “It’s going to be fine Tommy, you have an amazing and beautiful little girl who needs you. I’m sure you are going to do great and be a good father to her.”

 “What makes you say that?”

“You’re already worried about her and you haven’t even met her yet. You already care – that’s what gave you away.”

“Thank you. I really hope you’re right.” Tommy said with a shy smile.

“So; are you ready to meet your daughter Tommy?” Tracy asked standing up.

“Yes, yes I’m ready.” Tommy stood. As he and Adam walked behind Tracy out of the office and further down the hall Tommy reached for Adam’s hand.

 

 

At the end of the hall Tracy lead them in to a huge play room. It looked like the mix of a classroom and a child’s room.

“This is our activity room. We can do almost anything in here and I know Josephine was in her a little while ago so let’s see if she’s still here.” Tracy looked around the room. “She is I see. She’s sitting over there by the window.” Tracy pointed towards a table at the window where five children was making what looked like bracelets and necklaces out of beads.

“She’s the one sitting at my colleague’s lap.”

Tommy looked at the girl. She had long brown hair, same color as her mother’s. She was putting beads on a tread smiling at something the grownup told her. Alice had been right, she had his brown eyes and his smile. She was beautiful.

“Wow. Tommy Joe I don’t think you need a DNA test to confirm that she’s your child. She looks like you a lot. She has your smile and your eyes.” Adam whispered into his ear. Tommy couldn’t help grin.

“Yeah, she really does right. But she looks a lot like her mom too.” Tommy answered.

“Are you ready to go talk to her?” Tracy asked. Tommy nodded and grabbed on to Adam’s hand again.

 

When they were close to the table Josephine looked up. Tommy felt it as if he got punched in the stomach. Yeah, she had his brown eyes for sure, but the sorrow that showed in them even though she was smiling made him want to pick her up at the spot and promise her to make it all better. He got mad at Alice again. He knew she loved their daughter but he would never forgive her for making Josephine look at him like this, not ever. He didn’t care what good of a reason Alice felt she’d had. She cost Josephine pain that she shouldn’t have to experience that early in life, he would never understand, or forgive her for that.

“Hallo Josephine this is Tommy and his friend Adam. They are here to visit you.” Tracy explained to her, as she kneeled down beside her colleague. Josephine looked at Tracy and then back at Tommy and Adam. She looked shy and hesitant. Adam gave Tommy a little push in the back to make him take action.  
Tommy walked forward and took a chair from the table next to Josephine’s.

“Hey Josephine. My name is Tommy. What are you making there?” Josephine looked at him for a long minute and Tommy was sure that she would start crying any minute, but instead she reached out her hand to show him the string of beads. “Wow, that’s really pretty. Is it a bracelet or a necklace?”

Josephine crocked her head and looked at him for a moment. “Bracelet” she answered. Tommy felt a rush go through his body at the sound of her voice. It was soft, but so full of life. Different from the look in her eyes. It made Tommy feel like she wasn’t all damaged.

After ten minutes Tommy had already established a good contact with Josephine and he was helping her find beads for her bracelet. They talked about colors and Josephine told him that she liked pink. After a while they finished the bracelet and Tommy helped her tie it.

“It’s a big bracelet for your arm aren’t it Josephine?” The woman, Julie, who’s lap Josephine was sitting on, asked.

“It’s not for my arm.” Josephine told her.

“Then who is it for?” Julie asked her.

“Tommy.” Josephine reached out to give the bracelet to Tommy, smiling at him in a way that made Tommy want to hug her so badly. At some point Adam had placed himself at the table just behind Tommy, which Tommy hadn’t noticed before now when Adam reached out and gave his shoulder a squish. Tommy turned and smiled at him.

“Thank you so much Josephine. It’s really beautiful and I’ll promise I won’t take it off.”

“Do you want to see my room Tommy?” Josephine asked all innocent and unsure.

“I would love to.” Tommy assured her. Josephine got down from Julie’s lap and reached her little hand out towards Tommy. Tommy took it and stood to his feet.

“Do you need me to come with you Josephine?” Julie asked her.

“No, I want to show Tommy myself.”

“Okay, you know where to find me if you need me sweetheart.”

As Josephine started to walk towards the doors Tommy turned to look at Adam.

“Go, I’ll be fine here – I saw that they had a huge dress up corner over there, so I’ll be fine.” Adam joked while pointing in the direction of the dress up corner. Tommy smiled and followed Josephine.

 

 

While they walked down the hall back towards the entries Tommy tried to come up with something to ask Josephine, but didn’t know where to start. They crossed the entries hall and continued down another hall on the other side. It looked like the one they came from except that there were a lot of doors in this hall and on each door there were pictures of the kids who lived in the rooms. Josephine stopped in front of a door on their right.

“This is my room.” Tommy looked at the door and saw that she shared it with two other girls about her age.  
Josephine opened the door and walked inside. Tommy followed and was greeted by a bright room with drawings and teddy bears in all colors. Josephine sat down on a bed. This is my bed and that is my mom.” She told Tommy as she pointed at a picture on the wall beside her bed.

“I know.” Tommy sat down next to her.

“She can’t come back and get me so I live here instead. My mom got really sick and died.”

“Yeah.” Tommy didn’t know what else to say. He hadn’t expected this.

“I miss my mommy.” Josephine looked at him with big eyes filled of sorrow. “Mommy told me that she loves me and that she would look down at me from heaven, and make sure I’m safe.” Tommy didn’t know how to answer that either. He believed different, but Josephine didn’t need to hear that. She was a child who needed to know her mom was watching out for her and keeping her safe, he wasn’t about to ruining that.

“I actually knew your mom before you were born.”

“You did?” Josephine sounded so happy that Tommy couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes I did. She was my girlfriend. “

“Did you love my mommy then?”

“Yes I did. I loved her very much.” Josephine suddenly crawled into his lap and cuddled close. Tommy put his arms around her and hugged her tight. He felt his heart skip a beat and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

“Jo, are you okay sweetie?” Josephine pulled away a little and looked at him in confusion.

“My mommy called me Jo.” That made Tommy realize what he had just said.

“Oh, is it okay I call you that too?” Josephine looked at him for a while.

“Tracy told me I have a daddy. I have never met him and she says that my daddy didn’t come to see me when mommy died, because he didn’t know mommy had me.” Tommy was afraid to say something wrong so he just kept quiet and hoped for the best outcome. “Tracy told me that my daddy would come to see me soon. That he was told he was my daddy now.” Josephine crocked her head and looked at Tommy in silence for a while. “Tommy, are you my daddy?” Tommy felt like his heart stopped.

“Yes, Josephine I’m your daddy.” Tommy felt tears run down his cheeks but he didn’t care enough to brush them away.

“Are you going to take me home then?”

“No Josephine, but I’m going to take you back to my home when you’re ready. I’m going to take care of you.”

“Why didn’t you know mommy had me?”

“Because your mommy never told me.” Tommy reached up and brushed his tears away.

“Is that why you are crying? Are you sad because mommy didn’t tell you? Are you mad at mommy?”

Right there and then Tommy realized that he couldn’t be mad at Alice. Josephine loved her mom and she needed her dad to do the same. She needed her dad to tell her that her mom loved her very much, and did what she did out of love.

“Yes, I’m crying because I’m sad that I didn’t know your mommy had you. Then I could have been there to take care of you when your mommy got sick, and to take care of your mommy too. But no Josephine I’m not mad at your mommy. She loved you very very much and she took good care of you. I love her for that.” When Tommy said it outloud he knew it was right. He would never understand why Alice chose the way she did, but he loved her for giving him this beautiful little girl and loved her for taking so good care of her up until now.

“Where do you live Tommy?”

“I live in Burbank, it is a town outside L.A.”

“I know where that is. Mommy and I went to the park there just before she got really sick. We spent most of the day there. I got an ice cream and we drove through the town looking at houses. Mommy stopped outside a big red building and we sat there for a while. I don’t know why and mommy wouldn’t tell me.”

  
Tommy looked at Josephine in disbelief. Alice had tried to tell him. She had tried to come and talk to him that day. He was sure of it. It had to be his apartment building that they had been parked outside. But he hadn’t been home. He’d been in Europe around that time.

“Did you like Burbank then?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah, I liked the park. It had a swing.”

“We can go to that park and try out the swings when you come live with me.” Tommy assured her. He realized what Alice had done. Maybe she hadn't had the courage to get out of the car and go knock on his door, but she had spent a whole day in Burbank introducing Josephine to what could become her new hometown. She had made some good memories with Josephine there. She had given Josephine a piece of herself to take with her to Burbank. Made it feel a little like home.

“Tommy, who was the other man who came here with you? Does he live with you too?”

“He’s name is Adam. He is my friend and no he doesn’t live with me. He has his own house in Hollywood. It’s a pretty cool house with a swimming pool.” Tommy told her with a smile on his lips.

“Really?” Josephine exclaimed. “He has a swimming pool? Can I swim there when I come live with you?”

Tommy couldn’t help but laugh at Josephine’s excitement. “Yeah I think that can be arranged. Do you want to go back and say hallo to him?”

“Yes!” Josephine jumped of his lap and opened the door. Tommy followed her down the hall and back into the activity room. He looked around for Adam and found him in the dressing area playing dress up with two of the girls.

“He’s over there.” Tommy told Josephine pointing in Adam’s direction. Before Tommy could react Josephine had set of running. She jumped right into Adam’s lap.

“Tommy told me you have a house with a swimming pool and that I can come swim in it when I come to live with Tommy!” She exclaimed happily.

“He did, did he?” Adam said, looking up at Tommy with a grin. Tommy shrugged his shoulders trying to look apologetic.

“Can I?” Josephine asked a little unsure.

“Of cause you can sweetheart. You can swim in it every day if you want to.” Adam assured her.

“Let’s see about that.” Tommy stated quickly. Adam couldn’t help but laugh when Josephine looked at Tommy and pouted in the exact same way Tommy did when things didn’t go like he had planned.

“She is diffidently your daughter.” Adam stated, still laughing. Tommy started laughing with him.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

A month went by where Tommy visited Josephine almost every day. Ones he brought his mom, and later on his sister and niece. He wanted Josephine to meet them before moving in with him, to know that she had a family again. Josephine reacted very strongly when meeting her grandmother. Twenty minutes after they arrived, Josephine hang on to her grandmother as for dear life the rest of the afternoon. Tommy soon came to realize that it had to do with the fact that Josephine hadn’t had any other family beside her mom, so for her this was huge. As Tracy had told him the first time he came to see Josephine; she had felt alone and scared when she lost her mom, and now all these people showed up and seemed to care for her. Tommy couldn’t imagine how that most feel.

While waiting for Josephine to feel perfectly safe around Tommy, so that she could move in with him, Tommy went and got a DNA test made to make sure he was in fact Josephine’s biological father. As he already knew it would; the DNA test came back positive. The day after receiving the results, Tommy got told that he could take his daughter home in two weeks. Tracy felt like Josephine was ready to leave the orphanage, seeing that she was always happy around Tommy and seemed to feel safe when she was near him. Tracy needed to fill out the paperwork and Josephine had to be prepared and have some time to get use to the thought of leaving, but otherwise it was time.

Tommy immediately called his mom and sister to tell them the good news. They were trilled and promised to come help him fix up the room for Josephine. The next person he called was Adam. When Adam picked up the call, Tommy didn’t even give him the time to say hallo, before he started rambling happily.

“Hey babyboy! Guess what; Jo is coming home!”

“That’s great baby! When?”

“In about two weeks. So I have a lot to do. I have to fix the guest room so that Josephine will have a nice room when she comes home.”

“You haven’t done that yet?”

“No, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Wanted to see if she would like me first.”

“Baby, as I told you from the beginning she will love you. She already does I’m sure. Now, when are we going shopping?”

“Shopping?”

“Yeah, for Jo’s room?”

“I already asked my mom and sister to come help me, so you don’t have to waste time on that. They’ll help me out.”

“Oh no way am I missing this! Hell no! Remember who held your hand at the lawyer’s office AND at the orphanage? You are not taking shopping away from me Tommy Joe!” Tommy couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Sorry, won’t ever happen again. Of cause we are going shopping together. You can also help me paint and stuff like that.”

“Yay!! I’m coming over early tomorrow morning and then we can eat breakfast together and then go shop.”

“Fine with me. See you tomorrow babyboy.”

“See you glitterbaby.”

 

 

After four hours of shopping for Josephine’s room Tommy had about enough when Adam pulled him into yet another store.  
“Addddaaaam!” Tommy wined. “I’m tired and I want to go home already.”

“Just gonna look at some more outfits for Jo, Glitterbaby.” Adam said with a sweet seductive voice.

“We already bought her a whole closet full of clothes – plus an actually closet to store it all in. There has to be a limit.”

“But..” Adam trailed of when Tommy started dragging him out of the store again and towards the exit of the shopping mall.

“NO! I’m putting my foot down. No more shopping. We need to go home, have some late lunch and then get started on actually painting a decorating Josephine’s room” Tommy gave Adam a stern look while still holding on to his hand, afraid that if he was to let go, Adam would run back to the store again.

“Oookay then, but promise me that I can take Josephine shopping when she moves in with you?!”

“Sure you can, if that makes you come back home with me now.” Tommy said shaking his head in disbelief.

“Weeeell, Tommy Joe when you put it that way…” Adam trailed off with a seductive smile and a wink.

“Go fuck yourself Lambert! Not funny! Come on already!” Tommy said laughing while dragging Adam towards the car.

“I thought it was pretty funny.” Adam was now grinning from ear to ear.

“Bet you do. Come on help me make all this fit into the car.” Tommy gestured towards all the things in the two shopping cards. Adam’s smile fainted immediately, which made Tommy laugh.

“Ha! Not so smart now, huh babyboy?!”

“Fuck you Tommy Joe!”

“You wish!” Tommy stated laughing.

“You have no idea how much!” Adam was once again smirking and winking at Tommy.

“Lambert, get working!”

 

 

Much later that day, almost around midnight Tommy and Adam finally had time to sit down and oversee their days work. They had finished painting Josephine’s room and Tommy was actually very proud of the result. They had painted three of the walls in Josephine’s favorite color pink, but around the edges of every wall they had painted an off white color. It made the room look more sophisticated somehow, even though Tommy doubted the fact that a little girl’s room could be sophisticated, but that was the word Adam had used when he suggested the solution. The last wall was painted in the same off white color and then Adam had gone all crazy painting flowers and words on the wall. All in different shades of pink, of course. He had painted words like love, family and life. Tommy had to admit that it looked rather cool even though he still thought it was kind of too much. Adam had totally overheard his arguments and in the end Tommy had given up even though this in fact was HIS daughter’s room. He knew better than to keep arguing with Adam when he was in his creative zone.

“We did good today!” Adam exclaimed looking over their work. Tommy was pulled out of his thoughts when Adam spoke and couldn’t help but return Adam’s happy smile when he turned his head and looked at Tommy.

“Yeah, it turned out pretty good.”

“Pretty good? It turned out amazing. I think the flowers and the words work very well.”

“If you say so…”

“Tommy Joe, I did my best work with it so don’t you give me ‘if you say so’! Jo is going to love it!”

Adam sounded so sure of himself that it made Tommy laugh.

“What?” Adam began to pout which just made Tommy laugh even more.

“You just sound so sure of yourself. How do you know what Josephine like? I don’t even know that and she’s my kid.”

“It’s a girl thing.”

“And you’re a guy.” Tommy stated, laughing again.

“Not what I meant! I meant that pink and flowers is a girl thing and by the way I’m gay in case you forgot.” Adam winked at the end of the sentence which made Tommy go into a laughing fit.

“Have I ever told you that I love your crazy ass?” Tommy stammered a bit out of breath from laughing so hard.

“Once or twice. I have to get home and crawl into bed now.” Adam stood up, and as he did he looked himself over. “Or maybe shower and then crawl into bed.”

“Yeah, I feel like I have paint everywhere.”

“You do Tommy.”

“Oh, shut up!” Tommy pushed Adam in the back while walking through his apartment. “But seriously; thank you for your help! I couldn’t have done all of this without you.” Tommy leaned in and hugged Adam tight.

“No problem Tommy Joe.” Adam turned and headed out the front door. “I’ll be back tomorrow to help you decorate.”

“Sounds great, bring coffee please.”

“Will do, goodnight Glitterbaby!”

“Goodnight Babyboy, see you tomorrow!”

 

 

Adam did return the next day as promised, and with coffee. They spend the next two days together, putting together furniture and decorating Josephine’s room. They finished the day before Josephine was to come home.

After ending the last work on Josephine’s room they were sitting in Tommy’s coach eating pizza and drinking wine, watching some movie Tommy hadn’t really paid any attention to. He was too nervous for the day to come to concentrate. He hadn’t thought much about it while they were putting Josephine’s room together, but now when it was all done it hit him hard; He was going to become a father full time by tomorrow.

Tommy was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Adam’s hand on his knee. He looked at Adam and gave him a smile.

“What are you thinking about Tommy Joe?” Adam started running his hand up and down Tommy’s thigh in a soothing matter. Tommy couldn’t help smile, Adam was able to read him all too well.

“Just thinking about Jo.”

“What about her?” Adam wasn’t about to give up that easily, Tommy knew that.

“I just… I’m going to be a full time father tomorrow. Me.. You know it’s just…” Tommy trailed of. He felt kind of stupid for just realizing his full responsibility now.

“Tommy, you are going to do fine! More than fine! She’s a sweet little girl and she trusts you already, it can’t go bad.” Adam insured him.

“But what if it does Adam? What if I mess her up? What if I say and do something wrong?” Adam pulled him into a hug.

“Trust me Tommy you will.” Adam kissed his forehead and pulled away from the hug. “You will say something wrong and you will do something wrong, because all parents do at times, but one thing is for sure, you will NOT mess her up!” Adam took a hold of Tommy’s hands.

“How can you be so sure of that?” Tommy felt a little pathetic for asking, but right now he just needed to swell in his own insecurity.

“Because it’s you we are talking about! You care too much to mess her up! Tommy, all she needs right now is to know that you are here for her, and that you are not going anywhere. She needs to know that she has a safe place and people who cares about her and that’s it for now.”

“How did you become so smart on this subject?” Tommy asked laughing a little, course yeah; Adam was right he needed to start with making Jo feeling safe again and then he would figure it all out along the way.

“Have you met my mom at all?” Adam responded, laughing.

“Point well made.” Tommy agreed, laughing as well. They fell back to silence for a while after that, watching the movie still playing. When the movie ended Tommy turned and looked at Adam again. “Will you go with me tomorrow?”

“What?” Adam asked, obviously not paying attention at first because he was trying to make the DVD player spit out the disk.

“Will you go with me tomorrow?” Tommy repeated, now having Adam’s full attention.

“To pick up Josephine? Tommy, are you sure? I mean don’t you want your mom or your sister to go with you?”

“My mom can’t make it tomorrow and my sister will have to bring Bridget and I don’t think that is very practical. Besides I really want you to be there with me and I think Josephine would love that too. She asked for you the last couple of times. I think she’s looking forward to try out that swimming pool of yours.” Tommy explained with a smile on his face.

“Well then.. I’ll love to! What time are we picking her up?”

“At 11 am. I was thinking about taking her out for lunch before we go back here. Somewhere fun.”

“Sounds good. I’m in!” Adam was smiling so huge that Tommy couldn’t help giggle. He had a feeling that Adam fell in love with Josephine from day one, but Tommy had to admit that his daughter was imposable not to love.

 

 

Picking up Josephine from the orphanage went fine. She had a box and a suitcase with the stuff she had brought with her when she moved in. Josephine was excited and she was running around saying goodbye to everyone. That made Tommy relax a little – he had feared that this goodbye would be more difficult for Josephine.

Josephine was sitting in the backseat of the car singing to herself looking out the window.

“See I told you it would be fine.” Adam whispered, sending him a bright smile.

“Yeah, and as I told you she missed you.” Tommy said grinning, remembering how Josephine had greeted Adam by clinging to his leg telling him that today she was going to move in at Tommy’s place and then she could come swim in Adam’s pool as he promised her.

“I think she only likes me because of the big swimming pool you promised her that I have.” Adam said fake pouting.

“Tommy where are we going?” Josephine asked from the back seat.

“As I told you we are going out for lunch and Adam is coming with us.” Tommy replied looking at her in the review mirror.

“I hope that is okay?” Adam asked her, turning around in his seat so that he could look at her.

“Yes that’s okay, but where are we going?” Josephine asked again looking really adorable with wrinkles in her forehead.

“I actually don’t know.” Adam told her. “Only your dad knows that.” Hearing Adam calling Tommy for a dad had a strange sound to it, but somehow it felt good to hear somebody else say it out load like that. Tommy had a feeling that both Josephine and he had to get use to the sound of that word.

“We are going to a diner that my dad used to take me to when I was a kid. We went there a couple of times every month for lunch, me, my dad, and my sister Lisa.”

“Why did grandma don’t go?” Josephine asked curiously. Tommy still found it kind of strange that Josephine didn’t call him dad, but called his mom for grandma, but he had decided not to put too much into that. Josephine should be able to take things in her own speed.

“I don’t know actually. I just think maybe my dad wanted to have some special father time with me and my sister. That was our place and our thing to do together. We did plenty of other things with my mom.”

“Okay.” Josephine just accepted that explanation. Maybe that was the wonder of being four years old, Tommy figured.

 

The diner still looked just like Tommy remembered. The only thing changed was the staff, but no wonder it was about fifteen years since he had been there last.

It was one of those diners that still looked like a really old American diner, with the difference that it was decorated with the point of inviting families with youngsters inside. There were slots machines with a lot of different games and all the food in the menu had names that children could related to, like the Minnie Mouse burger.

The moment they had stepped inside Josephine’s face lit up and she had put her little hand in his and looked up at him with big eyes, like she couldn't believe that she got to be there. When Adam leaned in and whispered “good choice” in his ear, Tommy felt happy.

They spend a couple of hours at the diner, eating, playing games and just relaxing. Tommy could feel that he was more relaxed now and felt like he got a little closer to Josephine. At the moment he was watching Adam and Josephine, as they played at one of the slots. He was really grateful for the fact that Adam had been by his side the last couple of months. He was a damn good friend and Josephine loved him.

Tommy got up from the table getting their things together and walking towards Adam and Josephine.

“Hey guys. I think it’s time to go now Josephine.”

“Okay, are we going home now?”

“Yes we are going home.” Tommy smiled at the thought. He was taking his daughter home.

 

 

When they got home Adam helped Tommy carry Josephine’s things up to the apartment.

“So… I think I will let you two be alone and head home.” Adam announced smiling at Tommy, standing in front of him, holding Josephine’s hand.

“Don’t be silly. You are going to stay.”

“Yeah, Adam stay.” Josephine chimed in.

“See.” Tommy said grinning. “You are going to stay. Besides we are going to show this little lady her new room.”

“Yay” Josephine started jumping up and down beside him.'

“Are you sure?” Adam asked, looking at Tommy.

“Yes I’m sure. You helped me put it together, so you are going to be her when she sees it.” Adam almost beamed at Tommy.

“Okay, then let’s go and show her.”

“Yeah, show me!” Josephine was jumping up and down with excitement, gripping Adam’s hand too.

“Okay, it’s this way.” Tommy said laughing, leading the way towards her room.

When Tommy opened the door to Josephine’s room she stood completely silent just staring in awe.

“Is this all mine?” She asked, looking and Tommy equitably.

“Yes, it’s all yours.”

Josephine let go of both Adam and Tommy’s hand and walked into the room, looking all around.

“Do you like it.” Adam asked from the door, standing right behind Tommy.

“I love love love it!” Josephine answered. Then she ran and put her little arms around Tommy’s waist. “Thank you.” Adam looked at Tommy as he ran a hand through her hair. He could swear that he saw tears forming in Tommy’s eyes before he bend down and kissed Josephine’s hair.

“You welcome sweetheart. Do you want to play in your new room while Adam and I go into the living room?”

“Yeah!” Josephine ran to the shelves and was already pulling stuff down from them before Tommy managed to pull the door half closed.

Adam walked behind Tommy as they walked into the living room.

“Did I just see you tear up back there?” Adam asked, laughter in his voice.

“Shut up.” Tommy said, laughing.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, I almost had tears in my eyes too, seeing how happy she was.” Adam confessed.

“Well, for you it’s normal.”

“Hey! Be nice! Remember I helped you put that room together. If it wasn't for my gay eye she wouldn't be in there right now. You would have filled the room with posters from all your favorite horror movies.”

“Would not!” Tommy defended himself.

“Yes you would.” Adam started laughing when Tommy punched him at the shoulder, when he pasted on his way to the couch.

“You’re such an ass.”

“But you love my ass.” Adam counted back, wiggling his ass, as he passed Tommy sitting next to him.

“You’ll wish.” Tommy said, lying down with his head in Adam’s lap. Adam started running his fingers through Tommy’s hair, without even thinking about it. Silence fell over them for a while. Tommy enjoyed the felling of Adam’s hand in his hair.

“I can’t believe that she is finally here.” Tommy wondered out lowed after a while. “I’m a dad..”

“Yes you are.” Adam agreed. “and she is perfect.” Tommy looked up at Adam, returning the bright smile that meet him.

“She is right? She reminds me so much of her mom.”

“How was she?” Adam asked softly.

“She was something else. She was this free spirit. Always happy and always on her way to the next thing.”

“How did you meet?”

“I meet her at a bar actually.” Tommy sat up, facing Adam and crossed his legs. “Mike, Dave and I were playing that night. Mike knew the owner and he had asked if we would jam that night. It was fun and nice to get out and play for an audience again.” Adam smiled at him. “She came up to me afterwards, when I was standing at the bar ordering drinks for me and the guys. The first thing she said to me was; ‘you were hot up there. Buy me a drink?’. Tommy laughed of the memory. “So I did and that was it. I was totally under her spell for a long time.”

“Why did you guys break up?”

“She told me that she thought it was time for her to move on. We had given each other what we could and it was time for me to spread my wings and fly.” Tommy looked down at his hands. It had really hurt him back then.

“Wow. That was some goodbye.” Adam reached out and touched his hand. Tommy looked up and gave him a soft smile.

“Yeah, I admit that it hit hard. I thought we were going to last. She got me, and she let me be who I was. I didn’t get why she did it back then, but now I know.”

“Sorry, I don’t follow?”

“Think about it. How old is Jo? She knew back then Adam. She knew she was pregnant. And she let me go, because she wanted me to follow my dreams. She did it because she loved me. I thought she stopped loving me, when she left, but it was just the opposite.”

“You think she left because she wouldn’t tie you down?”

“Yeah I really do. She knew that my dream was to live of my music. To be up on a stage every night. I wouldn’t have done that if I’d known she was pregnant. I would have found a job that provided a safe kind of living for us and Jo. She knew that and she left so I could follow my dream. She did it out of love.”

“Wow...”

“Yeah… I was so mad at her in the beginning when I found out about Jo. I couldn’t understand why she would do something like that to me and to our little girl, but then Jo told me that she had visited Burbank with her mom once. When I came back home it dawned on me what Alice had done. I still don’t think that it was the right thing for Jo to leave her like she did, but I can’t be mad at her whole hearted, because she let me have my dream. She loved me so much that she choice to be a single mom, so that I could fly. How can I hate her for that?”

“She sounds like a really loving and beautiful person, Glitterbaby.” Adam reached out and pulled Tommy in for a hug.

“She really was.” Tommy agreed. “And now I will do my very best to honor her memory and help Jo become the best woman she can ever be.” Then Adam did something that surprised Tommy and send unexpected sparkles down his spine. Adam kissed him softly and heartfelt.

“You are the most beautiful human being I have ever come across, Glitterbaby. And know this; whatever it is, you are never alone in this, okay? Never!” Adam kissed him on the forehead and pulled him in for another hug. Tommy knew that Adam spoke the truth, he knew that whatever he would come to face he would never be alone, when Adam was in his life and it made him feel safe.

 

 

Later that evening Tommy put an already sleeping Josephine to bed. She had fallen asleep on the floor of the living room while watching a movie with him and Adam. He put the covers over her and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

“She kept on sleeping.” Tommy assured Adam as he sat down next to him on the couch.

“Good. I’ve put on Velvet Goldmine. Thought we could watch it before I go home.”

“Great idea.” Tommy gave Adam a bright smile, loving that his best friend knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t ready to be alone yet. Adam settled against the couch and pulled Tommy with him, tucking him in flushed to his side.

They sat like that twenty minutes later when Josephine woke up crying and screaming for her mom. Tommy was up and running towards Josephine’s room faster than Adam could react.

When he came in to the room, Josephine was sobbing hard and had crumbled in to a tight ball in her bed. Tommy rushed to the bed and pulled Josephine into his arms, rocking them from side to side.

“It’s okay babygirl, you are safe. Shhhh…” Tommy’s heart was breaking at the sound of Josephine’s pain, that didn’t seem to subside one bit. Tommy kissed her cheek and kept rocking them. When he was about to start crying too, Adam appeared at the door. Tommy looked up and gave him a pleading look. Adam came in and sat down next to them, running soothing circles on Josephine’s back. He started humming a tune under his breath and softly it turned into ‘Hush little baby’. After a little while Josephine’s sobs subsided and became silent tears, and at last she relaxed in Tommy’s arms. After a little while she was back to sleep and Tommy tucked her in carefully.

When they had left the room Tommy turned into Adam’s outstretched arms and cried out his own pain for a while.

“She will be okay baby, you will be okay.” Adam comforted him, while running his hand up and down Tommy’s back. When his tears stopped, Tommy pulled out of Adam’s embrace to look at his face.

“Thank you! I was about to give up when you came in. My heart was breaking with every sob.”

“I know it must have been really hard to see her like that.”

“It’s so unfair that she has to go through this kind of pain. She’s just a little girl.” Tommy shook his head in frustration, while looking into Josephine’s room.

“You want me to stay here tonight? I can sleep on the couch.”

“Hell yes! But you can sleep in my bed, it’s big enough for both of us.” Tommy smiled, taking Adam’s hand and leading him towards his bedroom. When they were lying in bed, Adam had pulled Tommy into his side and ran his fingers through his hair.

“It’s going to be okay, Glitterbaby. You and Jo are going to get through this.” Adam assured him.

“Thanks. Thanks for being here and for staying.”

“Always.” Adam put a kiss to Tommy’s hair and they fell into silence, before sleep took them over.

The rest of the night went good. Josephine slept through the night. Tommy had been up a couple of times to check on her, but she had looked peaceful at sleep.

 

 

The next six months flew buy like crazy, Josephine was starting to feel at home with Tommy and the nights when she woke up crying and calling for her mom became few. Tommy had become a master of trying to get her to come down again and when he was totally desperate he would call Adam up and make him sing over the phone. It had come to the point now that, when he called Adam this late Adam started singing as he answered the phone. Tommy loved him for it fiercely.

 

Adam was really a big part of Tommy’s life now, more than he had been before Josephine came into it. Josephine loved Adam, and often asked for Tommy to call him up on the phone when she hadn’t seen Adam for days. It was obvious to everyone that Adam loved Josephine just as much.

When the promo tour of Adam’s second album came around and Tommy was to travel with him to play the guitar, Josephine came with them. They spend all their free time with Josephine, watching movies, playing games, and showing her some of the countries they were in. When they were at the stage playing, Josephine hang out with Lane.  
One afternoon they were in a park near the hotel they were currently living at. Josephine was playing with some other kids, while Tommy and Adam sat on the grass watching her.

“She seems content.” Adam stated, looking at Tommy.

“Yeah, she really does. It is nice to see her smile most of her waking hours.”

“The nights are better too right? You haven’t called me up in a long time.”

“She sleeps through most night now, and when she wakes up she aren’t sobbing and screaming like before. She cries a little, but I can come her down fast and make her go back to sleep. It is getting better.”

“I’m glad to hear that. You have done a good job, Tommy Joe.” Adam leaned in and kissed his hair.

“Daddy, daddy!” Josephine shouted, trying to get Tommy’s attention. Tommy smiled big and his heart skipped a beat from the sound of the words. It was the first time ever that those words had come out of her mouth. “Daddy, look!” Josephine shouted happily, as a dog was licking her cheek. Tommy looked at her and smiled big, while Josephine gave the dog a hug, before the owner walked away with it.

“Wasn’t that..” Adam trailed of looking at Tommy with the biggest smile he had ever seen plastered on his face.

“…the first time she called me daddy?” Tommy continued. “Yeah it was.” Adam hugged him fiercely and squealed.

“See! I told you so! She is feeling content, safe and happy!” Tommy couldn’t do anything else than smile from ear to ear, while getting up to hug his little girl. That night when he tucked Josephine in, she gave him a big hug and said the words that made Tommy cry happy tears when he came into Adam’s room.

“What is it?” Adam asked, confused by the tears in Tommy’s eyes and the smile on his lips.

“When I tucked Jo in, she gave me a hug and said ‘I love you daddy’.” Adam stood up fast and in two steps he was in front of Tommy, pulling him in for a bone crushing hug.

“I’m so happy for you baby.” Adam swirled Tommy around as they both laughed. “Wow, this is huge!” Adam squealed as he put Tommy down. “You made it baby! Everything is going to be okay now! I just know it!” Tommy couldn’t help but laugh about the joy Adam had on his behalf.

 

 

Two weeks into the promo tour, Adam, Josephine and Tommy had fallen into a pattern of domestic family. Lane made them aware of the fact one evening when they were out for dinner. Adam sat across for Tommy and beside Josephine. Lane across from her. When the food came Adam reached out for Josephine’s plate and cut out the meat for her, while Tommy filled her glass with water. After putting down her plate in front of her, Adam helped her roll up her sleeves and then turned his focus to Lane and Tommy. Lane was smiling at him, that all knowing smile she put on when she thought she knew something he didn’t.

“What?” Adam asked laughing.

“It suits you.”

“What does?”

“The role of caretaker.” Lane answered, winking at him. “You two have the routines down and work together perfectly.” Tommy and Adam looked at each other and then Adam smiled.

“I guess we do. Haven’t thought about, but you may be right.” Adam chuckled.

“It’s nice though.” Tommy stated. “It makes me feel less of and only parent.”

“Don’t stop on my account.” Lane stated. “I think it’s sweet.”

“I bet you do.” Tommy said shoving Lanes shoulder.

 

 

Two weeks later Tommy and Josephine was bag home in their apartment and left Adam behind in New York where he needed to put some last work into his album. When night time came, Josephine insisted on talking to Adam.

“I don’t know if Adam has the time to talk on the phone right now, babygirl. It’s late in New York.”

“I just want to say goodnight.” Josephine explained.

“Okay, I will try calling him and see if he has the time.” Tommy found his phone and called Adam up. After two rings Adam was on the other end.

“Hey Glitterbaby. What’s up?”

“Hey. Jo, would really like to say goodnight to you if you have the time?”

“Of cause I have time for my princess. Put her on.” Adam said happily. Tommy handed the phone over to Josephine and let her have her talk with Adam, while he emptied the last contents of their suitcases out in to the laundry bin. When he came back into the room he overheard the last bits of the conversation.

“…okay, I will. I love you Adam, bye.” Josephine turned towards Tommy. “Daddy, Adam wants to talk to you too.” Tommy took the phone still puzzled by Josephine’s words. Josephine hoped of the couch and went into her room.

“Jo, I’ll be in, in a minute to tuck you in.” He called after her. “Hey.” He said into the phone. There was no answer on the other end. “Adam?”

“Yes, sorry. I’m still here. I just..”

“Yeah, I heard it too.” Tommy said giggling.

“Wow, Tommy Joe. Just wow.” Adam was laughing now.

“Don’t act so surprised. She adores you. She has nearly spent as much time with you as she has with me. It’s not that strange. Besides, you impossible not to love!” Adam’s laughter rang trough the line.

“Thank you. Now I can keep on going in the studio for hours after that display of love.”

“Do that. Kill it rock star. See you soon.”

“See you Tommy Joe. Sleep tight.” Tommy got up from the couch and headed for Josephine’s room smiling from ear to ear.

 

 

Months flew by and in that time Tommy and Josephine spend a lot of time with Adam. Josephine finally got to swim in Adam’s pool and was more than a little excited.

Just before the world tour kicked in, Josephine’s fifth birthday came around and Adam had offered up his place for the celebration. The past week Adam had helped Tommy planning the party and buying gifts.

All Tommy’s friends, most of them Adam’s friends too, and both Tommy and Adam’s family were gathered in Adam’s backyard. Tommy was sitting at the edge of the pool next to his sister, their feet in the water. Tommy was watching Josephine and Adam who was playing around in the pool.

“They’re really close.” Lisa stated.

“Yeah, she adores him.”

“I think the feeling is mutual. His eyes shine like stars when he looks at her.”

“He has been so good with her from the beginning.” Tommy laughed as the words came out, because Josephine and Neil had just forced Adam under the waters, making him come up gasping for air, while Neil and Josephine laughed hard.

“He has been good for you too.”

“Huh?” Tommy turned and looked at her, having not really heard what she said.

“I said; he is good for you too.” Lisa smiled at her brother. Tommy looked back at the three in the water.

“It’s funny you know. I thought that we were really close before Josephine came into the picture, but I was wrong. Somehow her being a part of my life has made my friendship with Adam stronger. It’s not only Josephine who thinks it’s weird when he is not around.”

“Tommy..” Lisa waited until he was looking at her, before she continued. “Have you ever stopped to wonder that maybe, what the two of you shares goes beyond friendship? That what have made you relationship grow stronger is that you moved pasted friendship?” Tommy knew what she was getting at. She knew him really well, and he wasn’t surprised by the fact that she had noticed the change.

“Honestly?” Lisa gave him a nod. “I don’t know what it is I feel. You know me, I’ve always been a little bendy, so it’s not about the fact that he’s a guy. He was my best friend first you know. We were close. When did it change? And more important has he noticed too?”

“Yes he has.” Neil’s voice startled Tommy. Neil was leaning his arms at the edge of the pool, still in the water. “Sorry, that I overheard. I was coming over to pull your skinny ass into the water, when I heard what you asked Lisa.” Tommy smiled at Neil, as to say ‘it’s okay man’. “But he has noticed Tommy. He’s just not sure what to do about it. He loves you and Jo, but he doesn’t want to overstep boundaries.” Neil gave him a smile and then swam back to Adam and Josephine.

Tommy stared at them for a while and then turned to look at his sister.

“Can I give you a little sisterly advice Tommy?” Tommy nodded.

“You haven’t really ben a single parent since Josephine came into your life. Mom and I have been keeping quiet because we knew that you would figure it out on your own, when you were ready for it. Josephine might have lost her mom, but she gained to dads.” Tommy opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Lisa cut him off. “Before you say something, I can assure you that Alice would love it. She loved you big time little brother. She let you have your dream, maybe not the smartest choice she ever made, but she did it because she wanted to see you happy, do you honestly think she would keep you from that happiness now?”

Tommy smiled at his sister and then pulled her in for a tight hug. “I love you so much big sis.” Tommy kissed her cheek and let himself slip into the water. When he reached Josephine he gripped her around the waist with one arm, earning a squirrel of joy from her. Then he went over to Adam, still with Josephine hanging from his arm. Adam was grinning at him and took Josephine from Tommy’s arm and put her on his hip, holding her in place with one arm, while he pulled Tommy in for a hug with the other. When he let go, Tommy tilted his head back and pulled Adam down for a sweet kiss. When the kiss broke and Tommy looked into Adam’s eyes he saw confusion for a moment, but when Tommy smiled at him the look changed to something else, something Tommy hadn’t seen before. Adam pulled him in for another kiss, this one much more dominated by Adam, then the kiss before. When releasing Tommy, Adam turned and put a kiss to Josephine’s hair.

 

 

Three weeks later Tommy was packing the last box in his and Josephine’s apartment. In two days they were off to the world tour, but today they were moving in at Adam’s place. Adam and Tommy had decided that when the tour ended, they were going to be a family for real, and that meant living together. For the last couple of weeks they had practical done so already. They had been in Tommy’s place all the time, but then one week ago Adam asked them to move in with him, in his house. Tommy was happy, but more important, Josephine was happy too. She couldn’t wait to move into the house and for some reason she didn’t seem to find it strange that Adam and his relationship had changed into a relationship of love. When Tommy had told Adam about his observation, Adam told him that it was because she properly already saw them like that. That made Tommy sure of his choice. He had not only made the right choice for him, but also for his little girl. She had the love of two men that adored her more than anything in this world.  
He hoped that if in fact Alice was watching down on them, she would be proud of him.


End file.
